Door-brace.



F. J. LEE.

DOOR BRACE.

APPLIGATI'ON FILED JAN. 4, 1911.

Patented Nov. 14, 1911.

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FREDERICK J'. LEE, OF WICHITA, KANSAS.

Doon-Benen.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK J. LEE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wichita, in the county of Sedgwick and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Door-Braces, of which the following is a specification.

' This invention relates to an improved brace, and has reference to a brace adapted particularly to screen-doors, and the like.

The invention has for an object to pro'- vide a diagonal brace which is attached at its opposite ends to the door by screws or other suitable fastening devices engaging loosely through the ends of the brace and being attached to the door, the brace being s0 formed that a longitudinal pull is exerted upon the fastening devices to insure the holding of the brace in position, and not a lateral pull upon the fastening device tending to loosen the same and allow the brace to sag and become ineffective.

The invention further aims to provide .a brace which is diagonal, which is peculiarly formed to draw longitudinally from its supports and notlaterally, and at the same time to form a brace which is very simple in design and structure and one which is of ample strength to hold the door frame in shape.

For a full understanding of the invention reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:-

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved brace as applied to a door. Fig. 2 is a sectional view through one end of the brace as applied to the door. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of one end of the brace. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a slight modication of the brace. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view through the same.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawing by the same reference characters.

Referring to the drawing the numeral 10 designates one of the stiles of the door and the numeral 11 designates the cross-rail of the same.

The improved brace which is applied to the stile 10 and rail 11 comprises a strap 12 formed from a length of iattened metal having its ends 13 bent obliquely so as to engage the extremities of the strap 12 against the inner opposite faces of the stile specification of Letters Patent. Patented NGV, M, 19 1g, Application filed January 4, 1911.

Serial No. 600,783.

ings 17 through which pass clamping screws I 18. Other suitable fastening devices may be used in place of the screws 15 and 18 pio viding that they are capable of longitudinal adjustment. Each of the ends 13 is formed with a struclcup portionproviding shoul der 19 located adjacent to the outer side of the opening 17 and adapted to receive the head of the screw 18. The. shoulder 19, as disclosed in Fig. 3 is formed by punching or otherwise forcing a portion of the metal outwardly from the surface of the same.

Referring to Fig. 2 it will be noted that when the brace ispositioned upon the door and the retaining screws 15 are driven home that the angular portions 16 of the brace are spaced from the adjacent edge of the door. The adjusting screw 18 is now fed int-o the door to engage the head thereof against the inner side of the opening 17. The screws 18 are fed into the adjacent portions of the door at right angles to the faces thereof and the ends 13 of the brace are arranged diagonally beneath the heads of the screws 18. When the brace is in position the shoulder 19 lies in a plane with the outer face of the inner end of t-he bent portion carried at the end of the strap which is disposed i parallelism with the adjacent edge of the door. This arrangement presents a. bearing surface engaging against all sides of the head of the screw and when the screw is tightened in the door to move the angular portion of the strap thereagainst, the screw exerts a pressure on all sides of the head and uniformly move-s the angular portion of the strap toward the door. rlhe tension exerted upon the strap away from the door is not exerted in the direction of the strap but at right angles to the adjacent edge of the door.

In Figs. 4 and 5 a slightly modified form of the brace is disclosed in which the end 13 is provided with a shoulder 19a formed by raising the outer edge of the opening 17a to engage against the head of the feedscrews 18.

Vhen the door to which the improved brace is applied, sags or falls out of shape, the feed-screws 18 are driven farther into the members of the door and are caused to bind against the shoulders 19 and the ends 13 lto shorten the distance between the style 10 and the rail 11. Since the heads of the screws 18 are engaged at diametrically opposite points by the shoulders 19 and the inner edges of the openings 17, the strain ot supporting or drawing the members back into position is exerted longitudinally upon the feed-screws 18, whereby the feed-screws 18 are most effective for holding the brace. Braces of this nature heretofore constructed depend upon the lateral drawing of the feedscrews toward the body portion of the strap 14, tending to enlarge the opening in which the feed-screws `are inserted in the door and thus decreasing the efficiency of the feedserews in holding the ends of the brace against the door.

The retaining screws 15 are of sufficient size and strength to hold the ends of the brace against the door sections while the adjusting screws 18 are driven into the door sections.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is A brace including a strap having an angular end rest-ing at an inclination against the edge of a support, a holding screw carried through the outer extremity of the angular end of the strap, and a binding screw disposed through the inner end of the angular portion of the strap, the latter having an outstanding shoulder for engagement beneath the outer side of the head of Jthe screw to receive the force exerted thereby. p

In testimony whereof, I aiiiX my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

Witnesses:

F. O. DEXTER, F. W. PRIEST.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

